Mariners OF Greg Halman killed in the Netherlands

Greg Halman, pictured hitting a triple against the Rays in June, was drafted by the Mariners in 2004 and spent seven seasons with the organization. (AP)

Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death early Monday and his brother was arrested as a suspect, Dutch police said.

Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said police were called to a home in the port city in the early hours of the morning and found the 24-year-old Dutch player bleeding from a stab wound.

The officers and ambulance paramedics were unable to resuscitate Halman.

Wessels said the officers arrested Halman’s 22-year-old brother. She declined to give his name, in line with Dutch privacy rules.

“He is under arrest and right now he is being questioned,” Wessels told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “It will take some time to figure out what exactly happened.”

No charges have been filed in the case.

The Mariners have released a statement after hearing of Halman’s death:

“The Mariners family is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Greg Halman,” said Mariners Chairman Howard Lincoln, President Chuck Armstrong and General Manager Jack Zduriencik. “Greg was a part of our organization since he was 16 and we saw him grow into a passionate young man and talented baseball player. He had an infectious smile that would greet you in the clubhouse, and he was a tremendous teammate. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Greg’s family.”

Halman hit .230 in 35 games and made starts at all three outfield positions for the Mariners in 2011 before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

“You can look at a stat line and see what he was as a baseball player and he was a gifted athlete. I think this kid was a couple of years away from breaking out,” said 710 ESPN Seattle’s Shannon Drayer.

“He was one of those kids that you loved to talk to because he had his eyes wide open…He always had a smile on his face.”

Drayer said Halman loved to travel and invited teammates to backpack around Europe in the off season.

Because he played professionally in the United States, Halman was not part of the Netherlands team that won the Baseball World Cup in Panama last month. The Dutch beat Cuba 2-1 in the final to become the first European team to win the title.

Born in the city of Haarlem, Halman played in the Dutch Pro League and was part of the gold-medal winning Dutch squad at the 2007 European Championship.

Former major leaguer Robert Eenhorn, the technical director of the Dutch baseball association, said he was devastated by the news.

“The only thing I can say right now is we are deeply shocked,” Eenhorn, who played for the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels in the 1990s, told the AP. “All our thoughts are with his family and how they are going to have to deal with this tremendous loss.”

Halman was in Europe this month as part of the European Big League Tour, an initiative organized by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Rick Van den Hurk in which major leaguers gave clinics to children. Van den Hurk is also Dutch.

“It’s really sad and it’s really terrible the way it happened,” International Baseball Federation President Riccardo Fraccari said. “We mourn for him and respect his family’s sorrow.”

Massimo Fochi, the vice president of the Italian baseball federation, said he met Halman less than two weeks ago at a European Big League Tour event in Parma.

“He was a great guy and the most appreciated by the kids,” Fochi said. “His passing away is really painful.”